Open learning nets: 5-year future diary of 9 year olds: explore-do-connect-learn. TO BE?

2.1 My travels

Dad's Musings:

I would like to find a way of questioning the diary writer about travel to praise what they enjoyed most in meeting a different people's place...Perhaps there could be a kid's version of this adult recognition space of loving each other's countries http://www.quicktopic.com/12/D/tfrfXSANMSxP

I remember never understanding any history or geography lesson from dusty books unless I had already been to the place or knew some friends there. Which explains why I never passed 8th grade exams in either subject, imo. However if I have been somewhere and you then show me what the people most loved in that place wrote in their diaries about the challenges (geographic, historic, social, economic, innovative) peoples of that place persevered through- then you light up my mind with imagination, particularly if somewhere along the line an apparently famous person gives a minute or two to meeting the child that I am -and saying that's a good question you asked. I need to start a blog somewhere on which places organise tourist greetings like that (starting with why Hollywood fails my geography exam). And as for opportunities of virtual tourism, virtual penpals, searching for your deepest mentors through life - are there any teachers of nine year olds who get that? We need to celebrate your initiatives as one of the primary vents of social entrepreneur olympics - mail me at wcbn007@easynet.co.uk if you wish to nominate such a teacher or teaching space

I don't think you can be really proud or joyous about exploring your community until you can share equal joy in another's community. But once you have accomplished the magic trick of loving 2 places and peoples for their humanly best diverse opposite -the worldwide cultural mix is the limit. I have never seen children start off prejudiced or fearsome against each other until an adult accidentally or knowingly messes up nature's love of evolutionary opposites. If you think as an adult what I have just voiced is too idealistic - fine, but my question is at what age do we really need to close that open space on the way young people hub together.

Also whilst I am not against Patriotism, you might want to explore the Scottish view of world's most valued people. We were one of the first worldwide social networkers with 5 times more of us living around the globe than in Scotland. We have several centuries experience of this because back then when England and Scotland United in Kingdom, the English set up early global accountants and taxmasters and convinced many Scottish Lords that sheep were more valuable than people to raise on their lands- we negotiated a free ticket to another land in days when ironically travelling the globe was very arduous but there were no passport controls to keep any goodspirited family out of looking for space to be free and happy. Somewhere in this diary we will need to explore whether what the top calls progress actually crowds us the chances to breathe and reflect that ordinary people's lifetimes need to preserve health ways ahead

Whilst in this section I had better do a bit of weblogging of a nine year old's history of travel and wishes. I realise round the world voyages while you are 8 are "spoilt" (so yes I am asking how we as parents could have got more out of them for her)

age 6 - the only time mom let dad and I go on a holiday on our own even though she doesnt like travelling- to disney world from Washington DC- daughter's view : a paradise for princesses - dad's view plastic hell on earth except looking at my daughter's eyes shine

age 8 round the world from DC to Perth to meet 5 cousins: daughter's view did not want to ever leave such a large and happy family of children from 6 to 17, and 2 dogs: parnet's view - oh dear, why couldnt we be living next door if it means that much to our daughtercut!Oh dear my 9 year old daughter has caught Hillary Duffitis and says Hollywood is the place she most wants to visit in the world.

This raises a serious question - if you as a parent have to fulfil your child's wishes to see Hollywood what on eartn do you do there that helps them discover something they can learn to do oand enjoy through life?

As far as I know, this is the main joy of all tourism; and I will be starting up a survey of which places do the best job in greeting tourists who want to be cross-cultirally moved for l;ife before they leave? Please do stand up -or mail me at wcbn007@easynet.co..uk so we can work out co-publishing spaces worldwide ) for your global village community if you feel it converts tourists into long-term amateur storytelling champions on behalf of your culture or some other lifelong collaboration (co-mentoring or other) benefit relevant to nine year olds up.

Meanwhile I wil be making a free gift offer to all those American Idols who fail to win number 1 at University of the Stars

This blog is http://ninenow.blogspot.comIncidentally do you know the only top 10s that matter to sustainability for the world's youth today? 12
Questions or answers to it can be mailed in confidence to Chris at chris.macrae@yahoo.co.uk - subject NINENOWOthers' Nations - childrens' books be PeaceCorps writersOur Current Vote Number 1 Social Project 30000YOUR IDEA IN INTERACTION

Tip if the first idea is too big- play it back to what youngers could do with a simpler version of it

CASE:

A) Anders and his youth (Sustainability Preneurs across Sweden) peers in uni town of Vaxjo had idea of why don't all university undergraduates (who wish to) sign a pledge 1 : if we ever become famous like Vaxjo Gold Medal Olympian Carolina Kruft (Universityof Stars 12) , we will adopt a Kluft-style mission in life. Knowing your social mission in life before fame begets you is the entrepreneur's truest way to be sure of sustaining it. University towns where high percentages of students sign the Vaxjo-type pledge are the best for future undergraduate education ones for sustainability alumni and world changers networks of social entrepreneurs

Emotional Literacy 1 -there is no evidence that preparing only for competitive exams gives 9 year olds time to be self-confident, to actualise communications and deep foci of trust, love, discover

Must visit web youthventure.org - reason: anything emerging from 28 years of Bill Drayton's college of 1500 social entrepreneurs is always worth getting involved with if you care deeply

Simply speaking, the net's most revolutionary change is that every 12th grader should be accomplished at finding her best mentors through life and helping others do likewise. Find benchmark schools that achieve the 21st Century's 5th R. The 4R's are no longer complete without the 5th. Virtual life's networks are not separable from real life's conversations where cafes and open spaces provide natural opportunities to explore the changes peer-group teams want to help co-create.

In the poorest third of the world, a vital learning is women have not been given enough communal investment, and help with sustainable development of what their community groups need to plant. We can guide you through microcredit and link you to many examples in Brazil or India if you want to map that. In the rich world, a parallel problem is helping youth invest in their future. We don't yet know how to map that but help that peers of 9's, 10's, 11's,12',s, and 13's will show us in time.

Project30000 provides us with a clearing house of inspiring projects for humanity across ages- why not assume 9-13 year olds are as interested in heroines and hero of humanity's deepest networking needs as 14 to 18's or any older age group?

The rich North does not wholly or systematically prepare children for cross-cultural harmonising or being their own media, conversation space - read eg Putnam Bowling Alone or Richard Florida on which places are on upcurves or down curves. It does not question the future history - read about collaboration and green as the next red, white & blue in Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat, a book on the collaborative global futures we build or destroy currently being bought by over a million Americans; compare with these future history scripts which leaders around the North hemisphere used to value debating in 1984IFIf you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream-and not make dreams your master;
If you can think-and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings-nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And-which is more-you'll be a woman, my daughter!